Carry Me Home
by JJdracula
Summary: After months of being unable to sleep, Nico gets some well deserved rest. A cutesy one-shot about 2700 words long. Valdangelo pairing. Artwork by Viria.


**Hi, guys. I'm really trying to improve my writing so it would be super helpful if you could leave a review. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what I should work on. It's all helpful. Constructive criticism is welcome. I hope you enjoy :)**

Leo was working. As always. He had a boat and a boyfriend that both required constant supervision and he found that working kept him from falling asleep. No sleep, of course, brought with it negative side effects but it also meant he could spend more time with Nico, his little insomniac. Nico slept occasionally but it was a fitful sort of sleep. A sleep he tended to wake up from within just a few hours. And even then, he could only ever fall asleep in the first place with Leo awake and present.

So Leo did his best to sneak sporadic naps throughout the day. This meant that when night fell he could keep watch over Nico and not be at risk of falling asleep next to him. He seemed to be the only thing that could quell Nico's not so illogical fear of the dark. The Son of Hades only ever seemed to be comfortable with his boyfriend by his side, which despite making Leo a little sad also made him extremely happy.

Right now though he had left Nico alone in the communal living area. It was just down the hall and filled with scattered couches and cushions. Nico had been sat on the cushiest couch, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets, hugging a mug of hot chocolate. He was in one of his moods. When Nico was having a 'bad day' sometimes even Leo wasn't enough to comfort him, sometimes he even flinched when Leo touched him. Originally this had hurt but he'd soon come to realise it wasn't a reflection of how Nico felt about him. It was just the internal scars from Tartarus making themselves known.

Nico was covered in scars from head to toe but unfortunately Leo could only see how badly he had been hurt on the outside. How badly Nico had been hurt on the inside seemed to be something that only he himself could deal with. It was something he didn't want anybody else to see. Tonight was one of the rare nights that he just needed to be alone and Leo was in tune enough with Nico to know when he was silently asking him to leave. After Leo had finished his own hot chocolate he'd made an excuse and set to work on some blueprints in the engine room. He knew from experience that Nico would call if he needed anything.

He'd been sat at his desk for a few hours now, staring at the blueprints he'd drawn up but not really seeing them. Sighing in frustration he dropped his head down onto the blue paper, wrapping his arms around it protectively. The darkness was welcome and he could feel his heartbeat begin to slow down as he relaxed. He considered sneaking in another nap before checking on Nico again and decided he had at least half an hour before he would be missed. He shifted into a more comfortable position and for the first time that day he stopped worrying about Nico or the Argo II. He pushed all thoughts from his mind. Just as he was starting to drift off a knock at the door snapped him back to his senses. He sat bolt upright and spun in his chair, demigod reflexes making themselves known as he reached for the sword at his feet then turned it on the person stood casually in the doorway. Piper snorted.

"Your hair is on fire." She said simply. Leo's shoulders dropped as the adrenaline drained from his body. He lowered his weapon and ruffled his hair to put the flames out.

"Hey, Pipes." He said, blinking dazedly and waving the smoke away from his eyes. Piper smiled in amusement.

"Hey, Leo." She said, keeping her tone indifferent. She was obviously bursting to tell him something. He raised an eyebrow quizzically and her amused smile turned into an almost guilty grin. Leo immediately became suspicious. Piper was the only one to know of his relationship with Nico, and even then she'd only found out because of her parentage. At first Nico didn't want anybody to know ever. He was scared and embarrassed about what he felt. Leo eventually convinced him that it would be a lot better if their friends were aware of them. And even though he was still doubtful, Nico finally believed Leo when he said that people were way more accepting now than they were in the forties.

After a few weeks of quiet, tense conversations Nico had been comfortable enough to agree with Leo and admit that it was a good idea to tell everybody on the boat. All he asked for was just a little more time to think. Leo completely understood and he was willing to give his boyfriend all the time he needed. Pipers grin made him suddenly question whether or not she was still the only person to know. His stomach dropped, thinking about how Nico would react if he was outed in front of his friends without any build up or warning. He had panic attacks if somebody touched him without asking. He hated to think about what would happen if he was suddenly exposed and emotionally vulnerable.

"What is it? Why are you smiling like that?" He asked uneasily.

"No reason. Just…" Piper sighed and gave up on the pretence. She clapped her hands together in excitement. "You need to come and see something." Leo propped his sword up against the doorway.

"Why? What is it?" He asked curiously. Piper waved away his question and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the room after her.

"What -" His question was cut off by her putting her hand over his mouth.

"Shhhh, okay?" She whispered. "Just trust me." Leo pulled her hand away from his face but didn't say anything else. They reached the end of the corridor and Piper, to Leo's surprise, turned into the room that Nico was in. He opened his mouth to warn her that it was one of Nico's bad days but she started grinning again and the words died in his throat. She was blocking the doorway so he pushed past her gently, nearly welling up when he saw what she was looking at. This was something he hadn't seen in a very long time and it was wonderful. After so many nights of Nico lying awake, scared out of his mind it was also extremely relieving.

Nico was sprawled across one of the sofas, his hot chocolate placed carefully on the floor forgotten. His blankets had been forgotten too and lay in a bundle next to the mug, leaving his body exposed. All he was wearing was an oversized dark grey t shirt (Leo recognised it as his own) and a pair of boxer shorts that were covered in little cartoon spanners. His knees were pulled up slightly, his arms tucked tight into his chest and he looked… peaceful. He looked his age for once. There was no haunted expression on his face, he didn't look scared or uneasy. He looked comfortable. Piper grabbed Leo's arm and pulled him closer to his boyfriend. They reached the sofa and stood in silence for a while. Looking down at the sleeping demigod with matching affection.

Nico's jet black hair was messy and ruffled, just like it always was and it seemed to soak up the darkness. It didn't shine, it didn't reflect any light, and it was stark against the white pillow it was resting against. Some of it fell across his cheek and Leo reached out to brush it away. Piper caught his arm before he could.

"I wouldn't if I were you." She said quietly.

"Why not?"

"I tried to wake him up just now." She whispered. Leo gave her a sharp look. "_Gently_!" She insisted. "I know it's been forever since he's slept. I just thought about how humiliated he'd feel if everybody were to come in here tomorrow morning and see adorable Nico not the scary Ghost King Nico. Plus the Spanner boxers kinda hint at you guys. Where did he even get those! Why would somebody make them? It's like they knew." Leo laughed under his breath. He'd always wondered if Nico had been looking for them or simply stumbled across them one day and bought them on a whim. Wherever Nico had found them, Leo had a sneaking suspicion that Piper's mum had something to do with the manufacturing process. Not that he wasn't grateful. They always brought a smile to his face.

"I don't know. He's never told me. And I hate to wake him up but I kind of see your point." He said regretfully. "Why _didn't_ you wake him up again? You said you tried?"

"Well, yeah. I did. But the second I touched him the shadows jumped to life and attacked me." She said matter of factly. Leo supposed Piper had been attacked by much weirder things. Why should a few shadows bother her? "Why do you think all of the lights are on?" Piper added. Leo looked around and saw indeed that every lamp and light in the room was switched on and shining brightly. "I figure he's subconsciously protecting himself. That's why I came to get you. Because I think if you touch him he won't have this weird need to protect himself. That and the fact that he looks so freaking adorable I just thought you'd like to see him." Leo smiled at her.

"You were right about that." He said. He looked down at his boyfriend and sighed softly. "He's beautiful, isn't he?" He added as an afterthought, talking to himself more than to Piper. And he wasn't talking about classic beauty. He was talking about the shape of Nico's body, the fact that he still didn't have quite enough weight on him, the sharp angles of his shoulder blades and elbows. The faint pink and silver scars that criss crossed across his bare arms and legs. The stark contrast between his white skin and his black hair. The faint purple bruises around his eyes. His ski slope nose, his pale lips. Nico was beautiful. He was like a painting. The dark and the light thrown haphazardly together to create this person who was a wonderful mixture of both. Piper laughed at the tone of Leo's voice.

"Yes. He is. Both of you are." She said simply. Leo shot her a questioning look, wondering if she was talking about them physically, or the aura of love that she claimed surrounded them both.

"So, maybe I should try to pick him up." He said, looking back to Nico. "I could take him to my room and put him to bed? That way we don't have to wake him." Piper nodded encouragingly and stepped back as Leo stepped forwards. He knew he should be worried about Coach Hedge finding out that he was sharing a bed with Nico. But they'd gotten away with it so far. Leo suspected the coach wasn't looking out for same-sex couples. Maybe that should've annoyed him, but instead he felt extremely lucky.

"Careful though." Piper warned from behind him. "It's just a theory that the shadows won't attack you. And I don't want either of us to be swallowed up by them." She shuddered, thinking about where they could possibly take her. Leo wasn't worried though. He knelt down next to Nico and hesitantly reached out a hand, holding it a few inches above Nico's face. When nothing happened he started stroking Nico's cheek softly. He could see the shadows in the corners of the room flickering slightly but none of them reached out to grab him. He took that as a good sign and leaned forward to kiss Nico's forehead, brushing away his fringe.

"Aww." Piper's hand jumped to her mouth as though she hadn't meant to say anything. "Sorry." She said sheepishly as Leo turned around to look at her. "You're just so damn cute." Leo grinned then turned back to his boyfriend. He was pretty confident now that he was safe. Shifting his weight slightly he inched one of his arms under Nico's legs and used the other to support his back. As he lifted Nico from the sofa the Son of Hades made a soft noise in his throat, snuggling into Leo's chest. One of his hands grabbed the material of Leo's shirt while the other was still pulled up to his own chest protectively. Leo's grin nearly widened but it faltered instead as Nico's grip tightened suddenly. His whole body tensed for a few moments then gradually relaxed again, he seemed to be holding onto Leo just a little tighter than before.

Leo looked at him worriedly. Was he trapped in a nightmare? Would it be worth waking him up? Nico's nightmares were usually terrible. He shook and screamed and lashed out. Now he was a dead weight. Completely unconscious. Leo hadn't seen Nico sleep like this for weeks, he decided it was just a little discomfort at being moved and brushed off the worry he was feeling. He'd truthfully never seen Nico looking so peaceful. He didn't want to become overprotective, Nico definitely didn't need that. He turned to face Piper. Whose face gave the impression she was cooing over a new-born baby.

"Thank you, Piper." He said, drawing her attention away from the sleeping demigod "I mean it." Piper smiled again.

"No problem." She replied sunnily. "And don't worry," She said as she saw he was about to speak again. "I won't tell anybody about this. _Especially_ Nico." Leo nodded in thanks and shifted Nico in his arms so that he was easier to hold. Then he turned towards the hall he'd walked down with Piper.

"Goodnight, Pipes." He called softly over his shoulder.

"Goodnight." She replied. Leo could still hear the smile in her voice as she watched him walk away. As Leo stepped through the doorway and into the corridor the darkness seemed suddenly suffocating. Without Piper or her bright lights distracting him it was painfully obvious that Nico was underweight. It was terrifying to think about how much he still needed to gain back after Tartarus. And though it did create beautiful angles when he was sleeping on sofas it was unnerving and unhealthy.

Leo looked down at Nico's face sadly, the boy was almost smiling. He averted his gaze when he remembered just how much Nico had been through. This small, fragile human being had gone through more than most of the demigods on this boat put together. Looking at Nico like this only served as a cold reminder. He pulled Nico slightly higher so that he could kiss his head again then tucked it under his chin, feeling Nico's hair tickle his mouth. He reached his room and kicked open his bedroom door quietly. Navigating the mess expertly in the darkness. He reached the bed and laid Nico down as delicately and slowly as he could, not bothering to pull back the blankets. He was about to pull away so that he could change out of his oily, grease stained clothes but Nico kept hold of his shirt and made a soft noise of protest.

"Per favore. Don't go." He mumbled sleepily, slipping in and out of Italian, like he always did when he was tired. He tugged at Leo's shirt. Leo hesitated, wondering whether a night with Nico would be worth ruining his bed sheets for and quickly decided it would be. He let himself be pulled down next to his boyfriend. As he tried to get comfortable without tangling their limbs Nico blatantly ignored his attempts. The smaller boy stretched languidly and wrapped himself tightly around his boyfriend. His hands worked their way under Leo's shirt, the cold making him shiver involuntarily. They traced their way up to his chest, coming to a stop directly over his heart. Nico found the steady thrum of it comforting. He buried his face into Leo's neck, unknowingly smudging oil across his cheek.

Leo reached out blindly with one of his arms, stretching as far as he could reach, scrabbling at the floor for a few minutes before his fingers snagged on a thin blanket. He managed to pull it up onto the bed and drag it clumsily across them both. Sighing in content when he realised they were both comfortable and both tired and both able to sleep tonight he wrapped his arms around Nico, letting his fingers get tangled in his hair.

"Ti amo, Leo." Nico said quietly. His voice was muffled by the material of Leo's shirt but it was still discernible and the emotion in it was particularly obvious.

"I love you too, Nico." He replied.


End file.
